Archives for January 2012

Perhaps typing is not your strong suit. Maybe your hands are full or the search terms are particularly challenging to spell.

Enter Google Voice Search. Now you can search the Internet without typing. This feature has been available on mobile +apps for a while, but last year Google introduced Voice Search for the computer.

Google has built this feature into Chrome, its own Internet browser software. If you are using Internet Explorer,Firefox, or Safari as your Internet browser, you will want to install Chrome in order to take advantage of the voice search feature. With that all you need is a built-in or attached microphone.

To install Chrome go to https://www.google.com/chrome and follow the instructions. Chrome is free and many searchers value its speed, simplicity, and security. Plus, Chrome makes it very easy to import your bookmarks from other browsers.

Once you have installed Chrome, go to http://www.google.com. You will see the little microphone in the search box. Click there and speak your search.

If you don’t already have a microphone operating on your computer or the Chrome browser installed, this may seem like a lot of work to get the voice search capability. For some that may be so. On the other hand, in setting this up you will join the ranks of many advanced Internet users.

Chrome has recently gained ground among professional and expert searchers. If you haven’t already tried it, it is well worth your time to consider. On top of that, you gain the nifty voice search feature.

Give it a go and let us know how you use voice searching.

DID YOU KNOW? – Document Storage and Sharing is In Reach

Are you challenged by the number of documents your organization stores and finding ways to keep track of them? Do you have trouble finding the references you need when you need them?

There are options for storing and tracking content of interest to you and your coworkers. Reference managers such as EndNote and RefWorks along with sharing capabilities, document delivery services, and copyright compliance procedures can give your team the tools they need to collaborate and get the job done.

For more information, feel free to contact Shamel Information Services http://shamelinfo.com or 858-673-4673.

Notes, News, and Announcements

Elsevier Acquires QUOSA: What Does This Mean? Mega-publisher Elsevier just announced the purchase of QUOSA, a document management software company. Cindy Shamel reported on some of the implications to people who rely on the life sciences literature to do their jobs.

Will QUOSA’s PDF downloading tool continue to work with OVID,Dialog, and PubMed? Will Elsevier develop QUOSA’s text mining capability for text analysis? Learn more in the Information Today Newsbreak at http://tinyurl.com/7n624uc.